More S.C. drivers could qualify for traffic-ed option

COLUMBIA — Motorists hoping to preserve their clean driving record even after getting pulled over could enjoy greater access to their solicitor’s traffic education program.

On Tuesday the S.C. House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would extend opportunities for less-than-perfect drivers.

The proposal, H. 3582, is aimed at expanding the people’s access to an existing program, which allows only someone who starts out with no points to opt for traffic-education class instead of license points.

The way the current program is designed, “makes it not work for most of the people who ought to be in the traffic education program,” said Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, during Tuesday’s meeting.

“This bill lets the solicitor decide if the person who would participate has a significant history of traffic violations,” said the lawmaker.

“It basically makes it now usable so solicitors can now get actually some use out of the program.”

Current law requires someone who wants to take part in the program to pay $140 to apply and $140 to participate. It is for drivers who committed an offense punishable only by a fine and loss of four points or less. When a motorist has finished the program, he may apply to the court for an order to destroy all official records relating to the arrest.

When asked about the bill before Monday’s committee meeting, a spokesman for AAA expressed reservations and said the proposal should be more specific about what constitutes “no significant history of traffic violations.”

“Any conviction, however minor, should be enough to alter a driver’s behind-the-wheel behavior, which is what driver-education classes seek to do before a court conviction,” said Tom Crosby. He added that the proposal, “needs much more clarification, including an analysis of how this would affect traffic safety in South Carolina.”